HOW TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AMERICAN EXPRESS’S DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGNS – A WAY TO BE GREEN AND MAKE GREEN

by Sangwan, Sarika

Abstract (Summary)

With a global advertising budget of over $694 million American Express is
considered the 45th largest marketer in the world. While the company has numerous
marketing channels available to deliver their advertising message, the most common
channel used by American Express is direct mail. Direct mail campaigns have a
substantial environmental impact, however with careful management this environmental
footprint can be reduced while also improving the company’s overall economic picture.
The objective of this project is to provide American Express with key recommendations
for how they can minimize the environmental impact associated with each phase of their
direct mail process while concurrently minimizing costs, strengthening brand reputation
and increasing overall profitability. These various recommendations were evaluated on
three criteria: (1) ease of implementation, (2) environmental impact and (3) economic
impact. Ultimately all three criterions were taken into consideration to produce a final
priority ranking of each recommendation.